Vibrators



W. GEIL ET AL Oct. 1l, 1960 VIBRATORS 5 Sheets-Sheet, 1

Filed April 23, 1956 ,www

Oct. 11, 1960 w. GEII. ETAL VIBRATORS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 23,1956 Q im :Humm-- Oct. 11, 1960 w. GEH. ErAL 2,955,476

VIBRAToRs v Filed April 23, 1956 3 SheelS-Sheet 3 Sites Pali l 2,955,476Vlatenten oca r1, ieee Filed Apr. z3, 1955, ser. No. 579,788 Claimspriority, application Germany Apr. 2 2, 1955 7 claims. (C1 74s7) Thepresent-*invention -relates to vibrators. i

Vibrators havev many uses such as vibrating elongated chutes orconveyors for causing a granular material or` the like to move`downwardly along such chutes or conveyors, the vibrators being fixedIto the latter. With conventional vibrators, .unbalanced weights areadjustably carriedby the vibrators soy as to produce the desiredvibrations, and if it is desired to change the vibrations then it isnecessary to shift the weights.

Very often it is` desirable to be able to change the vibrations of avibrator while it is operating, as when a plurailty of chutes or. thelike are supplying different materials which are being mixed together-in a chemical process or the like and it is desired to increase ordecrease the material supplied by one of thechutes without stopping theoperation. With conventional vibrators, it would be necessary to stopthe operation because the conventional vibrator could not be adjusted`to change the vibrations'without stopping the operation of the vibratorin order to shift the weight thereof.

One of the objects" of the present invention is to provide a vibratorcapable of vhaving its vibrations changed during its operation. A

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vibrator whichis capable of increasing or decreasing its Vibrationsduring operationofthe vibratorin an ex? tremely convenient` manner.

Y A further object of the present inventioniis toprovideA l a vibratorwhich' is capable of `having its" vibrations changed in a measuredmanner soV that the operator can knowrwithout trial and error how` the.vibrations `are being influenced.

An additional object of the present invention is tov very reliableinoperation and whichprovide a compact assembly.Y Y

With the above objects in View lthe present `invention mainly consistsof a vibrator which includes a rotatable means rotatable about apredetermined axis and having a hollow container spaced from this axis.A means communicates with Vthis lhollow container for causing'a mate-`rial which is capable of flowing yto ow to or: from the containervso as`to regulate the vibrations of the vibrator.

Thelnovel features lwhich'lare considered ascharacteristic fortheinventionnare set forth in particular inthe appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both asto its construction and its method ofopera-tion, together with additional objects and` advantages thereof,.will be best understoodfrom theV following description of specificpanyinadrawnga.iawhjch':

2 Fig. l is a longitudinal sectional elevational view of a vibratoraccording to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the vibrator of Fig. l as seen from the leftend thereof, Fig. 2 showing in dotted lines another position of one ofthe parts thereof which is shown in solid lines in Fig. 2; and v Fig. 3is a longitudinal sectional elevational view of a portion of thevibration shown in Fig. l and drawn to an enlarged scale. Y Y

Referring now to the drawings and to Fig.V l in particular, it will beseen that the vibrator of the invention includes a support means in theform of a stationary elongated hollow member 1 which may be ofcylindrical configuration.l The hollow member 1 lixedly carries a`plurality of angle members 2 at its outer surface which are adapted tobe removably fixed to a chute or the like which carries the material tobe conveyed by vibrations of the chute. The members 2 are formed withopening through which screw members are adapted to extend for fixing thevibrator to the chute or the like. The support means 1 carries at itsopposite ends, respectively, a pair of ball bearings which are clearlyshown in Fig. l and which are maintained against axial displacement inany suitable manner. The right ball bearing of Fig. l turnably carries arotatable member 4 for rotation about an axis coincident with .the axisof lthe tubular support l, and this member 4 has a pulley 3 aixedVthereto and ,adapted -to be connected to any suitable belt drive whichcauses elements 3 and 4 to rotate. The left ball bearing of Fig. lturnably carries a second rotatable member 5 which is hollow for apurpose described below.

The ball bearings described above and the rotatable members 4 and 5 havea common axis of rotation, and a pair of elongated members 6 and 7 Varefixed-to and extend between the rotatable members 4 and 5 to rotate withtherlatter, these elongated members 6 and 7 extending parallel to andbeing spaced from the axis of rotation. The elongated member 7 is hollowand at its hollow interior 7b forms a container for a material capableof liowing such as mercury or the like. This hollow container 7 is alsoformed with an opening 7a through which the material capable of flowingenters into the hollow interior 7b of the hollow member 7.

As is evident from Figures l and 3, the hollow intey rior of therotatable member S is closed at its right end by a wall carried by themember 5 and defining part of a hollow chamber 11 formed in the interiorof the hollow member 5. This chamber 11 is also defined by acircular'disc pressed into the hollow portion of the member 5 andengaging one end of a coil spring 13v for a purpose described below.This latter disc is formed with a central bore through which anelongated hollow tube 10 extends, this tube 10 extending. along theaxisof rotation of member 5 and the disc which surrounds the member 10carries a bearing which engages the member 10 in a fluid-tight mannerduring rotation of the member h a cylinder which surrounds the left endportion of theV member 1 and which hasrits right end, 'as viewed inFig.V l, in engagement with the outer surface'of the mem ber 1in aVfluid-tight manner.. This end wall turnably carried'by'the left endofthe member 1 carries the tube 10 and positions the-latter along theaxis of rotation.V

' i The cylinder which `engages the end Wall of the member 1 has xedthereto in a fluid-tight manner an elongated container 8 for thematerial to be supplied to the container 7, so that the container 8forms a supply means. This container 8 has a front wall 8a which istransparent and which may be made of glass or the like, 'and' this frontwall `8a is provided with a scale 8b, as shown in Fig. 2, for a purposedescribed below. The container 8 is joined to an elongated memberextending radially along the front face of the end wall of member 1Vbeyond the axis of rotation where this elongated member threadedlyca-rries a screw member 17 which extends through an opening formed inthe rotatable left wall of the member 1. This screw 17 is located at itsright end, as viewed in Fig. 1, adjacent a sleeve 18 having a leftoutwardly extending flange, as viewed in Fig. l, which is located at thesame distance from Vthe axis of rotation as the screw 17, and thissleeve 18 carries a bearing 19 which may be a ball bearing or a rollerbearing and which is provided with an outer freely turnable race ring19a.

The opening a of the rotatable member 5 is closed by a closure meanswhich includes a closure member 12 iixedly carried by an elongated lever15 which is pivotally carried at 14 by the rotatable member 5, thislever 15 being formed with an opening through which the tube 10,

extends with clearance, as indicated in Figs. l and 3. The rotatablemember 5 is formed with an enlarged opening through which the lever 15extends and in which the pivot pin 14 is located so that the lever 15can freely turn to the desired extent. The upper end of the lever 15,`as viewed in Fig. l, engages the left end of the coil spring 13 whoseright end engages the disc which defines part of the chamber 11, asdescribed above, and furthermore this upper end of the lever 15 isprovided with a projection which extends to the left, as viewed in Fig.l, and which is located at the same radial distance from the axis ofrotation as the race ring 19a.

The supply means B communicates with the interior a of the tube 10through bores 9, and as is evident from Fig. l, a bore 9 extends fromthe interior of the supply means 8 along the member which extends fromthe container 8 along the front face of the end wall of the member 1 andwhich carries the screw member `17.

Furthermore, the support 1 is formed with a bore 2.1.

for a purpose described below, and thisbore 21 communicates with thechamber 20 formed between the support 1 `and the rotatable member 5, asindicated in -Fig. l. The cylinder which surrounds the left end of themember 1 and which turns together with the end wall of the latter aswell as with the supply container 8 is formed, as shown at the lowerportion of the cylinder in Fig. l, with a cutout communicating with theopening 21 and with the interior of the container 8, so that in this Waythe container 8 communicates with the chamber 2i] which in turncommunicates with the interior of the hollow member 5. This hollowmember 5 furthermore communicates with a bore 10c formed in the tube 10and communicating with an elongated groove 10b formed in the innersurface of the tube 10.

The above described apparatus operates as follows:

During the operation of the vibrator, the support means 1 remainsstationary, and when no adjustments `are made the supply means 8 alsoremains stationary, and the screw member 17 and crank 16 connectedthereto as well as the tube .10 also remain stationary. The rotatablemembers y4 and 5 rotate together with the elongated members 6 and 7, andthe mercury located in the interior of the latter gives an unbalance `tothe rotatable means 4-7 which produces the vibration. The rotatingmember 5 carries with it the closure means 15 which'simply rotatesaround the tube 10. Furthermore, it will be noted that the left end wallof the hollow member 5 is formed with an opening through which tube 10and screw member 17 pass with clearance, so that elements 10 and 17 donot in any way interfere with ,the rotation of the member 5, and thesleeve 18\ andbearingr19` simply remains stationary with the member 10in the interior of the hollow member 5.

It will be noted that at this time the container 8 simply hangsdownwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, and the scale 8b indicates the level ofthe material such as mercury or the like which is located therein.

If it is now desired to increase the vibrations produced by thevibrator, then the container 8 is turned from the solid line position orrest position indicated in Fig. 2 to the dotted line position ordischarge position indicated in lFig. 2. When this supply means 8 isthus turned, the mercury therein ows along the bore 9 to the interior10a of the tube 10 and along the tube 10 to the chamber 11. When it isremembered that the rotatable means 4-7 is still rotating, then it willbe evident that by centrifugal force this mercury will move through theopening 7a into the hollow interior 7b of the container 7 so as toincrease the vibrations. While the supply means 8 is in the dotted linesposition shown in Fig. 2, the scale 8b indicates how much material hasowed out of the supply means 8, so that the operator knows how muchweight has been added to the container 7 and therefore knows how greatlythe vibrations have been increased. When the vibrations have beenincreased to the desired extent, the operator simply turns the supplymeans 8 back to the solid line position of Fig. 2, and the vibratorcontinues to operate. It will be noted that with this arrangement therehas not been any interruption in the operation of the vibrator, so thatits vibrations may be increased very quickly and easily withoutinterrupting its operation. The air which is displaced from the interiorof the member 7 by the mercury which has moved into the same ows alongthe groove .10b and out through the opening 10c into the hollow interiorof the member 5 from which this air may move through the opening ofmember 5 into the chamber 20 and through the opening Z1 and the cutoutof the cylinder surrounding the left end of support means 1 into thechamber 8. Thus, the air displaced from the hollow container 7 returnsto the supply means 8 to replace the mercury which has flowed from thelatter into the container 7.

If it is desired to reduce the vibrations of the vibrator, then theoperator need only turn the crank 16 so as to move the screw member 17to the right, as viewed in Fig. l. This will cause the sleeve 18 toshift to the right along the outer surface of the tube 10, and this willplace the race ring 19a in engagement with the projection at the upperend of the rotating lever 15, as viewed in Fig. l. Upon engaging thisprojection and upon continued turning of the manually operable means 16,17, the lever 15 will be turned in a clockwise direction, as viewed inFig. l, about the pivot pin 14 against the influence of the spring 13,so that the closure member 12 opens the opening 5a, `and now bycentrifugal force the quicksilver in the container 7 will iow throughthe opening 5a into the chamber 20 and from the latter through theopening 21 back into the supply means 8. In this way the vibrations maybe reduced, and it will be noted that the increase of mercury in thesupply means 8 may :be read on the scale 8b so that the operator knowswhen to turn the screw 17 so that it shifts to the left, as viewed inFig. l, so that the spring 13 may again close the opening 5a when thevibrations have been reduced to the desired extent.

Of course, instead of using mercury, a finely particulated material suchas sand or the like may be used, or metal balls may be used.

. It will be understood that each ofthe elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofvibrators diiering from the types described above'. l

While the invention has been illustrated land described as embodied inadjustable vibrators, it is not intended to be limitedv to the detailsshown, since various modications and structural changes may bemade'without departing in any way from the spirit of the presentinvention.

t Without further analysis, thefor'egoing will so fully reveal the gistof the present invention "that others canby applying current knowledgereadily 'adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint ofpriorart, fairly, constitute .essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning andrange of equivalence ofthe followingclaims. l

What is claimed as new and desired to be securedby Letters Patent is:

l. A vibrator comprising, in combination, stationary support means;rotatable means turnably carried by said support means for rotationabout a predetermined axis and Ihaving spaced from said axis a hollowcontainerl and also having a hollow chamber located between saidcontainer and axis and communicating with 4said container; an elongatedtube carried by said support means, extending along said axis, andcommunicatingwith said hollow chamber;

supply means communicating with said tube for supplyingv to the latter amaterial capable of flowing through said tube into said hollow chamberto move from the latter into said container by centrifugal force duringrotation of said rotatable means, said container having at a partthereof directed away from said axis of rotation a wall portion formedwith an opening communicating with said supply means through whichopening said material is adapted to iiow out of said container and intosaid supplymeans by centrifugal force during rotation of said rotatablemeans, said container being closed except for its communication withsaid supply means by way of said chamber and said tube and by w-ay ofsaid opening, said supply means including closure means for closing saidopening to prevent.

said material from owing therethrough.

2. A vibrator comprising, in combination, stationary support means;rotatable means turnably carried by said support means for rotationabout a predetermined axis and having spaced from said axis a hollowcontainer and also having a hollow chamber located between saidcontainer and axis and communicating with said container; an elongatedtube carried by said support means, extending along said axis, andcommunicating with said hollow chamber; supply means communicating withsaid tube for supplying to the latter a material capable of owingthrough said tube into said hollow chamber to move from the latter intosaid container by centrifugal force during rotation of said rotatablemeans, said container having at a part thereof directed away from saidaxis of rotation a Wall portion Vformed with an opening communicatingwith said supply means through which opening said material is adapted totlow out of said container and into said supply means by centrifugalforce during rotation of said rot-atable means, said container beingclosed except for its communication with said supply means by way ofsaid cham- -berv and said tube and -by way of said opening, said supplymeans including closure means `for closing said opening to prevent saidmaterial from flowing therethrough and moving means for moving saidclosure means to an inoperative position thereby opening said containerat said opening thereof -so that material can iow from said containerIby said centrifugal force.

3. A vibrator comprising, in combination, stationary support means;rotatable means carried by said support means for rotation about apredetermined substantially horizontal axis and having a containerspaced from said axis, said container having a part directed away fromsaid axis provided with a wall portion yfor-med at its bottom with anopening so that a material in said container which is capable of flowingmay ow through said opening; a closure member carried by said rotatablemeans for rotavtion therewith and for movement to `and from a closingposition closing said opening; a guide member carried by said supportmeans and extending along said axis; a sleeve shiftable axially alongsaid guide member; la bearing carried by said sleeve and having a freelyturnable race ring for engagingisaid closure member to move the latterfrom said closing-position thereof when said sleeve is shifted togetherwith -said bearing toward said closure member; and .manually` operablemeans carried by`said support means for shifting fsaid sleeve towardsaid closure 'member to move theV latter from said closing positionthereof when itis desired to 'permit the movement of material from saidcontainer by centrifugal force during rotation of said rotatablemeans orby of said rotatableme'ansL l" 4. A vibrator comprising, incombination,stationary support means; rot'tablenieaiis rotatably carriedby said support means for rotation about a given axis of rotation andhaving a hollow container spaced from said axis of rotation; passagemeans communicating with said container and including an elongated tubecarried by said support means and extending along said axis; and supplymeans including a supply container adapted to contain a owable materialcarried by said support means for turning movement about said axisbetween a rest position in which said supply container is below saidaxis and a discharge position in which said supply container is abovesaid axis and communicating with said tube for supplying by gravity tothe latter and through said tube to said hollow container a iiowablematerial-when said supply container is in said discharge positionthereof.

5. A vibrator comprising, in combination, stationary support means;rotatable means rotatably carried by said support means for rotationabout a given axis of rotation and having a hollow container spaced fromsaid axis of rotation; passage means communicating with said containerand including an elongated tube carried by said support means andextending along said axis; and supply means carried by said supportmeans for turning movement about said axis and communicating with saidtube for supplying the latter with a material capable of owing throughsaid tube to said hollow container, said supply means having atransparent wall portion provided with a scale which shows the amount ofmaterial in said supply means both when the latter is in a rest positionand when the latter is in an emptying position supplying material tosaid tube.

6. In a vibrator, in combination, support means; a hollow member carried'by said support means for rota- 'tion about a predetermined axis; anelongated tube carried by said support means and extending along saidaxis and communicating with said hollow member, said hollow member beingformed at a portion thereof spaced from said axis with an opening;closure means carried by said hollow member for rotation therewith andreleasably closing said opening; a sleeve shiftable along said tube; abearing carried by said sleeve and having a freely turnable race ringadapted to engage said closure means for operating the latter to opensaid opening; and manually operable means carried by said support meansfor shifting said sleeve to a position where said race engages saidclosure means to open said opening.

7. In a vibrator, in combination, support means; a hollow memberturnably carried by said support means for rotation about apredetermined axis and having at a part thereof most distant from saidaxis a portion formed with an opening passing therethrough andcommunicating with the interior of said hollow member; an elongatedclosure member pivotally carried by said hollow member intermediate itsends VVand having one end closing said openingY and an opposite enddistant 4from said opening; spring means engaging said opposite end ofsaid closure member for urging the same to its closing position, saidclosure member having adjacent said opposite end thereof an elongatedprojection; an elongated tube extending along said axis, carried by saidsupport means, and communicating with the interior of said hollow memberfor supplying the latter with a material capable of owing into saidhollow member; a sleeve shiftable along said tube; a bearing having afreely turnable race ring located gravity during standstill v at thesame distance from said axis as said projection of said closure memberand carried by said sleeve for shifting movement therewith along saidtube; and manually operable means for shiftingfsaid sleeve along saidtube to place said race ring of said bearing in engagement with saidprojection for moving said closure member to an open position againstthe action of said spring means.

References Cited in the ile of vthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,243,345 Rodgers oct. 16, 1917 8 Mac Farland Sept. 15, 1925 Kahn et al.Dec. 19, 1950 OBrien May 13, 1952 Br'ueggeman et al. Y I 2.. Mar. 8,1955 Kececioglu Nov. 8, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Oct. 19, 1955

